Cophine Through the Looking Glass
by krotitcitron
Summary: Cosima is washing windows in the building where Delphine works. Lips reading involved, and other mouth-fluffy-stuff hopefully. Let me know what you think ! This might go for a while if the muses help me. The size of the chapters is quite variable however. Rated M for, perhaps, later chapters. Dunno yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys ! So impatient to strat this journey with you. I'll give you some suggestions of songs before each chapter if you want to get in the mood :). Tell me if you like them ! I'm only gonna propose french songs cause I feel like centering this story around Delphine. Please feel free to comment, share, whatever you want ! ça me donne du courage quand tu t'abonnes ou que tu me laisses un com ;)**

 **Warning : English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for potential mistakes. But French is so enjoy without moderation Delphine speaking her mothertongue ;)**

 **Chapter 1**

 _Le temps est bon (Isabelle Pierre)_

 _Les espaces et les sentiments (Vanessa Paradis)_

Delphine hung up the phone and felt back into her chair, exhausted after another long day at work. She had a dream job : doctor for a very well-known clinic that provided her with a spacious private office, at the top of a skyscraper. It gave her a sense of achievement and satisfaction, but she was also feeling lonely, remote as she was from the life of the city. From her floor, she could only see people's heads and shoulders. She could only hear distant noises - horns, cries sometimes. Yes, her life was successful, and her career remarkable - she was hardly 31 - but she missed something quite indiscernible. She should have been perfectly having and fulfilled, and yet there was something she couldn't pinpoint.

Anyway… It was 7:45, that is to say fifteen minutes more than her usual hour of leaving. She gathered her belongings but, just as she was about to leave, she heard an unknown noise – however, as she'd find out soon, this noise was about to become a very familiar, and even impatiently expected one. She turned and saw a strange shape outside the window, suspended by a few cables and trying to find back its balance pushing on the glass. It took her a while to figure out what the strange vision was. Delphine had never stayed that late in her office, thereby she had never seen the person who was washing the windows of the skyscraper. She remained motionless for a while, not wanting to scare the person and cause them any injury. Actually, she felt a bit of dread herself at the sight of such a frail body suspended almost a hundred feets high.

The unexpected guest eventually managed to recover their balance and began to clean the window. When they turned sideways slightly to grab a cloth, Delphine saw clearly, thanks to the tight tank top, that her companion was a woman. The latter shook her head to swing her hair behind her shoulder when she returned to her previous position and began to wipe out the window. There was something about her hair Delphine couldn't quite figure yet because of the sun that was going down behind the woman.

It was a perfect August evening. Despite the air conditioning, Delphine could feel the heat that a long sunny day had left, lingering in every corner of every street. She could also impeccably picture the exact color of the light at this hour, a delicate medley of gold and light brown. The painting was amazingly in tune with the window cleaner's clothes, that were colorful but not too much. It was as if the woman had known what particular things she had to wear in order to complete the painting, as if she knew she would have Delphine as the private spectator of a show only displayed for her benefit.

The whole vision was quite dazzling so Delphine turned her eyes away, grabbed her bag and coat and left the room.

Outside, Cosima observed her making her way out, unable to prevent herself from staring at the swaying of her hips, and the long hair swinging to both sides of her head in tune with her gracious steps. Even though the daylight was decreasing slowly, the mirror glass window made it difficult to see with more accuracy the woman inside. But it was a woman for sure. She had such a way of walking. It took Cosima a moment to dismiss those thoughts and resume work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 :** _**Quatrième de Couverture (Vincent Delerme)**_

 _ **The Autumn Leaves (Edith Piaf)**_

Her week was so busy that Delphine barely had time to think about anything else. But next Monday, when she came back from a far from relaxing weekend, she found herself thinking about the window cleaner again. She glanced at her watch quickly : it was almost the same hour than when she had shown up last week. Delphine hesitated a brief moment, and then decided to wait some more. She had a few papers to finish today, so she might as well do it at her office rather than to bring work back home.

While she focused on the files in front of her, a small and thin shape descended along the glass wall of the window. The days were going shorter and shorter in this end of summer and, thanks to a dimmer light, Cosima had a better idea of what was happening behind the mirror glass windows. She immediately recognized the woman from the last time. Of course, she hadn't had a chance to see her properly because of very bright sunrays, the thin and curvy shape of the woman was unmistakable. Instead of cleaning the window, as she was supposed to, she remained motionless, gazing at the sight of the back of the woman, with her long blond hair falling on her shoulders. Cosima could've sworn she had smoothed it, because it was too perfect and nobody on earth could have such hair naturally. Unless she'd never met anyone like that. But she already felt that the woman was not like anyone she'd ever met.

Delphine saw a shadow pass on her sheets, and lifted up her head, looking for its cause, even though she already had an idea. She turned and after her eyes adjusted to the outside light, she saw the small frame of the expected window cleaner. With her vivid clothes and the ropes holding her at each side of her hips, she looked like some exotic butterfly caught in a spider web, Delphine thought.

The woman waved at her and Delphine didn't even feel her hand as she returned the gesture. This time, Delphine could see her quite well and noticed the dreadlocks on her skull. Unlike the first – and only – time she's seen her, the little woman had skillfully tied them up in an impressive bun. Delphine wondered how such a tiny body could handle such a capillary mass. While she was engrossed in those unwonted thoughts, the woman seized her sponge, generously plunged it in her mix of water and cleaning product in order to produce a lot of foam, and began making strange movements agaist the window. Delphine frowned, not understanding her point. The woman shook her head, frustrated, and tried again. This time, Delphine understood and had time to read what was written before the foam evaporated in the heat of the evening.

COSIMA.

That must be her name, Delphine reckoned. What a pretty name, she also thought. She repeated it in the emptiness of her office, testing the syllables on her lips and tongue. _Co-si-ma._ Cosima nodded, smiling, and then pointed her finger at Delphine, a question mark on her face. Delphine looked around her and found a piece of paper and a marker. She wrote her name and handed to Cosima. She felt surprised as a laugh broke out her throat when the woman bented a little forward, as if she was lifting an imaginary hat off her head. « Enchantée », she muttered. Her phone ringing startled her and she excused herself with a sign before taking the call.

\- Allo ? Oui. Je pars à l'instant. _(Hello ? Yes. I'm leaving right now.)_

She saw Cosima frowning outside, as if she was confused by something.

\- Ne vous en faites pas. Je vais arranger ça. Très bien. _(Don't worry. I will take care of it. Alright.)_

She hung up and saw Cosima laughing outside. Soaking in her sponge a few times, she wrote on the glass :

NO IDEA WHAT U SAID. ENGLISH ?

For a second, Delphine didn't understand, then she startled, realizing that Cosima was actually reading her lips. The thought that her reversed writing was quite impressive as well crossed her mind. This woman seemed to have many hidden talents, set aside the mere fact that she was currently hanging down from the roof of a skyscraper. She hesitated for a second, then :

\- Yes, I understand English, but that was French. I am French.

Cosima laughed once more and nodded. Delphine felt quite stupid speaking out loud alone in her office but she couldn't help herself.

\- I have to go. Bye.

Cosima gesticulated hastily, inviting her to stay a few seconds more. Delphine felt her heart speed up at the sight of her moving that rashly with so little support. Cosima wrote again :

SEE U NEXT MONDAY ?

Delphine stopped, unsure. Then, shyly, she nodded and almost ran to the door. She found herself quite ridiculous but her heart was racing without any reason and she didn't want Cosima to see her confusion.

\- Relax, she breathed. Ça doit juste être la fatigue. _(Relax. You're probably just tired.)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _ **La foule (Edith Piaf)**_

 _ **Paradis Perdu (Christine and the Queens)**_

Cosima loved her job because she was very fond of heights and quietness. Because she spent the rest of her time confined in labs or libraries, on a chair the whole day, she was glad her job gave her the opportunity to exercise a little, to unwind and switch her mind off her PhD. And besides, she enjoyed being able to contemplate this side of the city. She felt like she was outside the world, in some way. She could observe people from over, and she found a cheeky pleasure spying on people who had no clue of her presence.

She prefered to work on the evening not only because the heat was far more bearable, but also because it was easier to spot the imperfections on the glass with the oblique sun rays. It also gave her a better perception of what was happening inside mirror glassed buildings. And now she had another reason to love her job all the more. She giggled alone at the thought of the french woman she just talked to, if you can call it talking. Of all places, outside of one of the top floors of a skyscraper was the last place on Earth she would have thought to meet someone. But, hey, you never know when such things can fall on you and Cosima prefered to be damned rather than missing the opportunity to learn a bit more about this gorgeous woman. She knew how irrational she sounded right now but she didn't want to stop and was enjoying the fantasy growing in her bountiful imagination. After all, a little daydreaming had never hurt anyone.

And it was not as if this would ever go further than a few greetings every monday here and then. She's probably some kind of COO or CEO, Cosima thought, 'cause only rich smart people had an office at the top of a skyscraper. Yet, the stranger didn't look like the usual kind of people who had such an office. She had waved back at Cosima, not minding the weirdness of the scene. She had not seem to be ruffled out by the fact that a mere window cleaner had dared speak to her. She actually gave her her name. Like that. But wait, maybe that was not her real name. _I mean, why would she give her name to a weirdo like me ?_ Cosima wondered, sighing. But she liked Delphine very much and even if it turned out not to be her real name, Cosima was perfectly happy with the character she had invented in her head. And besides, even if Delphine had been freaked out by Cosima's demeanour, she had not shown it.

Cosima chuckled alone at the thought of Delphine talking to her through the glass. In a way, one could almost say Cosima had a date for next monday. And what a date ! She couldn't imagine stranger circumstances, and yet it seemed like it was happening. Of course, Delphine surely didn't think of it as a date, but it made the whole situation all the more funny to Cosima. She wondered how much longer she could prolong the fantasy.

It was not that Cosima didn't like reality. She just found it kinda boring sometimes. It lacked magic, great sentiments and improbable dreams. She had a few good friends, but she didn't enjoy social interactions outside her restricted circle. Instead, she prefered fantasizing on things, situations, persons her path would cross. She was very curious to learn more about Delphine, but, in a way, she prefered it if the blonde kept an aura of mystery, so that her imagination could run freely. Seeing her for a few minutes had given her enough substance to satiate her for the rest of the week.

As she reached the end of the rope, she began to pull at it, helping herself with the electrical engine to go up again. She stepped on the roof, enjoying the amazing view. _Okay, let's see_ , She recapitulated on her fingers : _She's probably hella smart. She has magical hair. She's beautiful. She's nice. She's French. Damn, that's hot._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _ **Un Rayon de Soleil (William Baldé)**_

 _ **La Flamme à Lunettes (Dionysos)**_

Delphine and Cosima spent another couple of weeks exchanging every Monday evening before Delphine left her office. It was just smiles, waving at each other, speaking about how beautiful the view and the weather were. Nothing more, really, but it was already so much for the both of them, who had grew to expect those evening meetings with impatience. Delphine had taken the habit to stay later on Mondays, and after a brief chat, she kept working for a bit, while Cosima cleaned up the window in front of her. Delphine had moved the furniture of her office, slightly, just so that she could sight Cosima out of the corner of her eye when she was working. That hadn't gone unnoticed by Cosima, who has smiled discreetly at the thought. She was delighted to see that the blonde didn't seem unmoved by her presence.

Of course, Cosima was not the only one unable to keep her new acquaintance out of her mind. Delphine spent the entire week thinking about the small woman. She could remember everything from her look, with an accuracy that surprised her. She remembered her hair, her glasses, the shape of her body and the muscles on her arms when she was cleaning the windows. She remembered her smile and found it very easy to imagine the laugh that must go along.

She always felt a warm wave permeating her when she had such thoughts. Maybe it was because of the scene she always associated Cosima with : a splendid sundowner behind her, the warmth of the light, with an iridescent play of colors around her. Delphine reckoned that Cosima was a very esthetical person, though she couldn't really explain what it meant. It just felt like the right word to describe her.

The medley of the landscape and the small woman constituted a perfect painting, and reminded Delphine of a song she used to listen to when she was younger. She thought she had forgotten it, but now all the lyrics were coming back to her at the sight of Cosima.

« - Oh petite allumette, c'est dangereux d'être coquette, au point de n'en faire qu'à sa tête, quand ça peut vous coûter les yeux. _(Of little matchstick, being coquettish is dangerous. When you only do what you want, it can cost you your eyes)_

\- Je m'en fous, je n'ai pas besoin de lunettes, pour embrasser et chanter, j'préfère garder les yeux fermés. _(I don't care, I don't need glasses. To kiss and sing, I'd rather keep my eyes shut)_

\- Oh mon petit incendie, laissez-moi croquer vos habits, les déchiqueter à belles dents, les recracher en confettis... pour vous embrasser sous une pluie _(Oh my little wildfire, let me crunch your clothes, shred them with my teeth, spit them back in confettis... To kiss you under the rain...)_

\- De confettis ? _(A rain of confettis?)_

\- Oui allons-y. _(Yes, let's go)_ »

Delphine suddenly blushed, realizing the words she was singing. She shook her head, unaware of Cosima's presence outside. The small brunette was trying to hide, hardly perceptible behind the frame of the window. She had been there for a while now, but she had not wanted to notify her presence. She wanted to stare at Delphine, reading her lips, gathering her words as if she could drink them directly from her mouth. She couldn't understand them, but from the slowness of her lip's movements, and the slight swinging of her body, Cosima guessed that Delphine was singing. This thought almost made her lose her balance, as she felt her mind buzzing. She would give anything to know what her voice really sounded like. She pictured how it would be to have those lips move at only a few inches from hers. She pictures how it would be to see her smiler for such a short distance. She wondered if she would be able to feel Delphine's breath on her skin, and how many shivers this would trigger in her body. Unconsciously, she licked her own lips at the sight of Delphine's perfectly shaped mouth humming a last sentence, before she stopped, blushing. This surprised Cosima and she wondered what Delphine could be thinking about. In an ideal universe, she would be fantasizing on Cosima just as Cosima spent most of her time fantasizing on her.

Without realizing it, Cosima had grown more and more fond of Delphine. Although at first she had been content to just staring at her, letting her imagination fulfilling the blanks, she now found herself craving to know more about Delphine. She wanted to hear her voice, to listen to the chant that escaped Delphine's mouth each time she answered Cosima's questions through the glass.

For the first time she had begun her job as a window cleaner , it seemed to Cosima as if she was trapped outside, as if the window was keeping her from a world of wonders, a world she was eager to discover. She wanting to crossed the mirror, as Alice felt in Wonderland through a rabbit hole.

Why not, after all ?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 ** _Tais Toi Mon cœur (Dionysos)_**

The next monday, Cosima was late. Delphine took every possible excuse to lengthen her working day, without admitting to herself that it had anything to do with Cosima. Nevertheless, the window cleaner's name wouldn't leave her mind. Co-si-ma, she chanted lightly, just before she caught herself and stopped, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. But right then, a knock on the window swept off all her efforts and she felt her heart bouncing again. _Voyons, c'est ridicule_ , she chided herself _(Come on, that's ridiculous)_. She inspired deeply, passed a hand through her blond hair to give them some nice look, and turned smiling.

She had not expected the scene in front of her.

Cosima was pressed flat against the glass, eyes closed, mouth half-opened, as if she were an insect that had not seen the window. She managed to keep her posture for a brief moment, before beginning to laugh and pulling away from the glass with her hands and feet.

HI DELPHINE

Delphine, still shocked, didn't react immediately, but then an irrepressible laughter shook her and before she knew it, she was holding her stomach, laughing out loud. She mouthed : 'You're crazy !' and Cosima sticked out her tongue with malice. Delphine was amazed to assess how she already felt so close to Cosima, after only a few words exchanged, and not even out loud. But everything flowed easily and, for once, she let herself go, welcoming wholeheartedly Cosima's positive energy. Somehow, it was as if it didn't count, as if those little minutes every Monday at the end of the day were just a parenthesis, a blissful, incredible parenthesis, but nothing more. Unconsciously, Delphine had allowed her exchange with Cosima to continue and grow deeper because she thought it would never impact her real life, her dull, repetitive, professional life. Cosima was like holidays, summer time, happy hour, when everything was free and inconsequential. There was something about the way she had walked into her life and mind, from the sky, as a drop escaped from a cloud, that made her some sort of magical in Delphine's imagination. And that's why she was willing to let her take a little more place in her Monday evenings.

'Hello Cosima', She answered, not knowing how long her mind had been racing and if Cosima had been aware of it. But the small woman didn't show any concern.

U WORKING ?

'Yes, but I just finished, actually. I was going home', She lied.

She didn't know why she did it. She realized it when she saw Cosima's frustrated look.

ALREADY ? :(

Then, before Delphine had time to confirm her departure :

WHAT DO U DO ?

'I'm a doctor.'

Delphine wanted to ask Cosima as well, but she wasn't sure if the question was appropriate. Maybe Cosima had not any other job or occupation besides this, and she didn't want to be indiscreet. So she let Cosima carrying on. The latter gestures a sign of admiration and Delphine felt herself blushing. However, she was used to such reactions. She had always been praised for her excellent results and incredibly precocious achievements. But, coming from Cosima, it felt somewhat more... genuine.

WELL DONE ! ME : PHD

It was Delphine's turn to show her amazement. She had not know what to expect, but certainly not that.

'Which field ?', She asked to conceal her trouble

EVO-DEVO

It took Delphine a few minutes to figure out what it meant, then she nodded frantically. Maybe this was the reason why she felt so attracted to this woman. They shared more than Delphine had expected. She wondered briefly what pushed such a woman to clean windows. Of course, a PhD could be expensive, but this job was quite unusual and it didn't really match with the idea of a PhD student. But, once again, Cosima didn't match with anything except herself, and this was why Delphine couldn't keep her out of her mind.

She brought back her attention to the window, to see Cosima looking at her with a question mark on her face.

'Congratulations', she said, 'and good luck for it !'

THX !

Both women were looking for things to say but they were too absorbed in the contemplation of the other to find anything. And sustaining a conversation in these consitions was pretty hard. Delphine felt like she should make the first move, even though she was uncertain about what 'making the first move' really meant. But Cosima had already shown a lot of curiosity towards her, and was the one who had initiated the conversation. It would be logical, Delphine thought with all her rational mind, to invite her for a drink. Besides, a drink didn't mean anything. They would just talk and get to know each other better.

And yet, Delphine didn't feel ready for such a thing. She tried to avoid the thought, but this inevitably meant that there was something more behind her attraction to Cosima. And she wasn't ready for this. It was too absurd, too fast, too improbable. How could she be attracted to Cosima in a romantic way ? - _Merde_ , she thought, the word had slipped out : romantic – She had already been attracted to some women in the past, but had never been able to make the final leap. And Cosima was so different from the people she used to rub shoulders with. It was not only her physical appearance, even though Delphine would never had thought that she could find dreadlocks and nose rings attractive. But Cosima was a window cleaner and Delphine had never washed a single window in her whole life. Cosima seemed hard-working and courageous, whereas Delphine felt privileged and scared of everything out of the ordinary. Of course, she had worked very hard to get her job, but it seemed like Cosima was having a similar challenge with her PhD. Cosima was carefree and always cheerful, whereas Delphine worried about a lot of things, and she only found herself genuinely smiling in Cosima's presence. In short, they were diametrically different.

Yet, their connection felt deeper and more meaningful than all Delphine had experimented with other people. She was craving to deepen it even more, and she knew it would be easy to ask Cosima out, but her courage failed her, once more, and she excused herself to Cosima before leaving the room.

When she walked out of the building, she felt her heart speed up as she thought that maybe Cosima was waiting for her outside. But there was no one. Relief was mixed with disappointment.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys ! to continue reading this, just go there !

archiveofourown *dot* org/works/7876627/chapters/18290320

See you around ;)


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